I really hope this guy doesn’t get traded by the time I finish the article.
Who: Devaris Gordon, Los Angeles Dodgers. Born April 22nd, 1988, bats LH.
2012: Dee Gordon began the season as an everyday starter, but he hit the DL in early July with surgery on his thumb. While he was on the mend, the Dodgers traded for some Hanley guy. In his 87 games played, he his .228/.280/.281, with 1 homer and 32 steals.
Pros: Gordon is an absolute tool shed, flashing 4 tools with + to ++ potential. His contact skills support an easy .300 average in his prime. He has all the range and arm strength necessary to excel in the field. His speed is top-notch. He’ll never hit for power, but with everything else he has to offer, he won’t ever need to. As an athlete, he possesses everything he needs to be a perennial all-star. At only 24 years old, he has plenty of time to build those skills.
So far in his brief MLB career, he’s already established himself as a quality base stealer. He has swiped 56 bags between his two seasons (143 games), with a success rate that exceeds 75%. He’s also shown the ability to make adjustments, doubling his walk rate from 3% to 6.1% in 2012.
Cons: Everything about Gordon’s ability is prospective, because in two years, he hasn’t really shown that he’s learned to play Major League Baseball. You saw his 2012 line, it was nothing short of brutal. His line in 2011 was better (.686 OPS), but neither one is going to wow anybody. His walk rate improvement came with a major bump in K rate from 11.6% to 18.8%. He’s obviously trying to adjust, and he’s young, but at age 24, his development has simply lagged behind his peers. The good news is that, given his natural hitting ability, he doesn’t need a great approach to be an average hitter. The bad news is that even an average approach looks pretty far away. There’s way too much swing-and-miss in his game right now.
Not only is his bat lagging behind in development, but his defense is more raw than sashimi. Both Fangraphs and B-R rated him as a simply terrible fielder, and scouts were no kinder. His concentration simply sucks, leading to bad jumps on plays and erratic finishes. His mechanics on throws aren’t very developed either, and in his 133 games of experience at the position, he has a whopping 28 errors. Most players have already gotten a feel for defense by now, and it’s starting to look like a move to the outfield is in store. A move to CF would put even more pressure on his developing bat, and he simply doesn’t have the offense to play a corner.
Cost of acquisition: He’s a great buy-low candidate. The Dodgers already have Hanley Ramirez to play short if need be, and their lavish spending spree makes prospects highly expendable. Given his struggles, the Dodgers might let him go for a halfway decent prospect at any level. A modest prospect like Tyler Collins could work. Any one player better than that probably isn’t worth the deal.
Other notes: Yes, he’s incredibly raw, but he’s not old enough to foreclose the possibility of development. With his tools, even modest improvement would make him a solid choice given the Tigers’ paucity of infield options. On the other hand, the Tigers aren’t in a waiting mood, and they probably have little interest in a lottery ticket.
Dee is the son of former MLB pitcher Tom Gordon, who was a decent starter with the Royals and Red Sox before bouncing around 6 more teams a reliever and sometimes-closer.